TCY - give your expert opinion here

[Phoenix]

need some good feedback with reasons for feeling that way

#1
is it more challenging to start in Sole 8 or elsewhere?
(with the goal of starting at a small program and working my way up to a job where I can compete for National titles)

#2
Bowl Games or Playoffs (PLAYOFFS - Jim Mora)

#3
where to put the Sole 8 (does putting it in Hawaii make for more realistic recruiting)

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

need some good feedback with reasons for feeling that way

#1
is it more challenging to start in Sole 8 or elsewhere?
(with the goal of starting at a small program and working my way up to a job where I can compete for National titles)

I think it's actually harder to start with a bad team in a good conference. Once you get a fairly decent team in the SCE, it's pretty easy to win the conference every season and build up your prestige quickly.

#2
Bowl Games or Playoffs (PLAYOFFS - Jim Mora)

Whatever you prefer. I'm a purist and I don't really care for the idea of playoffs in college football, and I'm also trying to replicate actual conditions as much as possible, so I play with bowl games instead of playoffs.

#3
where to put the Sole 8 (does putting it in Hawaii make for more realistic recruiting)

Theoretically the Solecismic 8 shouldn't have a major impact on recruiting as it's supposed to just add more average and low-level recruits to help stock the low-prestige SCE conference, but you could make arguments for placing the SCE somewhere out of the way like Hawaii or Alaska.

[Phoenix]

who are some "bad teams" in a good conference?

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

who are some "bad teams" in a good conference?

Baylor is always a favorite, but they have the advantage of having "local" acess to all of the Texas talent.

Indiana in the B10 is a decent challenge.

Duke or Stanford are good challenges if you set some house rules and only take players with a high test score and good GPA (maybe like 1200 and 3.4 GPA).

[Vegas Vic]

If you want a really tough challenge, I would suggest Troy State. They're near the bottom in prestige and academics, and they have to compete with Alabama and Auburn for in-state recruits.

[Fighter of Foo]

The toughest is picking up one of those middling big conference teams 5-10 seasons in. If their academics and prestige both suck, you really don't have much to work with. Combine this with the fact that you're stuck with whoever is on the roster for 2-3 years, and it can be almost impossibly hard.

[dixieflatline]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

need some good feedback with reasons for feeling that way

#1
is it more challenging to start in Sole 8 or elsewhere?
(with the goal of starting at a small program and working my way up to a job where I can compete for National titles)

From purely a challenging aspect I would not start in the S8. The rest of the teams around you will be bad enough that your first year recruits will be able to paste them and you should win your conference and go bowling/playoffs regularly. This will give your program a big boost in prestige and you will be on your way. If you do start here I would recommend then taking the first offer that comes your way from a big named school to help with the realism.

If you want to stay at one program the whole career in a big conference then a team like Kansas is a good one to choose. The volume of high schools around is small so you all those distance loving guys will be a bit harder for you to get. If you want a smaller school utah st. is a good choice as things are barren out their. Once you get good put restrictions on your academics. Many blue chippers love strong academics so if you boost them up quickly you can easily get stars at every position.

#2
Bowl Games or Playoffs (PLAYOFFS - Jim Mora)

I actually like the playoffs but it doesn't matter too much. If you play in a weak conference then it is slightly harder with the bowl games as your SOS can drag you down if there are other undefeated teams.

#3
where to put the Sole 8 (does putting it in Hawaii make for more realistic recruiting)

I recommend recreating the gateway conference (www.gatewayfootball.org). This is one of the best 1-AA conferences out there and many of their teams play 1-A schools in the non-conference part. Set it in Illinois so all the those teams fit. Missouri state almost fits, indiana state almost fits, UNI is off by a bit but not terrible. Western Kentuky and youngstown state don't which is a shame cause everyone loves the hill. So add Eastern Illinois from the OVC and maybe Valpo from the Pioneer or U of Chicago for old times sake. The Ivy also works ok in NY. You can do a search on this in the archives and find all the details.
I don't find this messes with recruiting much at all.